TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Condensation]

Cool FX at the beginning. I love the rich atmosphere and sense of climax into :15. I wasn't a huge fan of the percussion sample that was playing at the off-beats at :15. Something about the timbre just didn't seem to fit the rest of the piece. That said, the production quality is strong, and the refrain at :48 feels nice and cathartic. Nice work with the slap bass, too - it's a really fun addition to the texture, especially when it has that mini-solo at 1:03. The synth entrance at 1:30 (and a couple other places) sounds a tad harsh. Might need some more filtering or volume adjustments. The piece really starts coming together by around 2:20, though. The melodic content there just expands on the other motifs of the piece so well. The stop-start transition at 2:47 wasn't my favorite. It just didn't seem to match the smooth-flowing vibe of the rest of the piece very well. That said, the dreamy outro was a plus. Overall, nice work! I love the atmosphere and sound design here. Good luck in the ADM. ;)

ColinMuir responds:

Thank you TL, for always giving such real reviews :)

[Melt]

I like the ominous swell at the beginning and the relaxed atmosphere. The drums sound nice and crisp, and the E-piano is gorgeous and spacey. I think the drums sound a tad dry, though. They could use some reverb. The sound design really starts coming together by around 1:10, but there’s a lot of distortion in the texture at that point. The melodic content at 1:20 is really cool with the pitch-bending. The instrumentation here is also really cool. My main complaint is that the piece isn’t really structurally complete. I think you needed to flesh out the composition more before the piece really came together as a stand-alone track. That said, the atmosphere, melodic content, and automations are all huge pluses. Keep at it, YHTFLKC!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
7.75/10

YHTFLKC responds:

Thank you very much.

[Electron Beat]

I like the cute pads at the beginning. The synth at :07 was also cute, but had some funky panning that seemed a bit too heavy after a while, especially since not much else was going on in the mix at that point. That riff at :07 contrasts really heavily to the more ominous-sounding riff at :30. I found the chord progression implicated by the riff at :07 to be a bit cliche, but perhaps a bigger problem is that the harmonic progression here is really slow. The piece is minimalistic throughout, and doesn’t unite the themes of the blissful VGM stuff and the more hard-hitting breaks at 1:22 very well imo. The mix is pretty clean, and the drums and crisp and loud throughout. That said, you rarely engage in a sufficient level of harmonic depth, and the beat almost seemed tangential to the structural changes in the piece. At some point, it would’ve been nice to see you strip away the drums and offer some more structural variety. The composition feels pretty directionless as a whole, and you don’t really provide any satisfying harmonic variation of the main riffs later in the piece. That said, I will commend you for bringing the piece full-circle compositionally. It wouldn’t make a bad loop, either. It’s a cute piece with some fun sound design. I think you need to flesh out the harmonic framework a lot more and also add some more variety before I’m satisfied with the composition, though. Keep at it, Yeelp!

6/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

[Author wind - Truth]

I like the cute synths and atmosphere, but the white noise at the beginning sounds a tad harsh. I’d suggest some more filtering and automation to diminish its role its role in the mix. I like the sense of climax starting at :52, and the cathartic part at 1:15 fit in well. I think the hi-hats are a bit too loud at 1:28, and the melodic content isn’t as up-front in the mix as I’d like. The blissful mood and instrumentation here are great overall, though. As for the mastering, I think you could stand to cut a bit of reverb and equalize things a bit more strictly. Right now, the mix is loud and full, but could benefit from a bit more clarity. I also would’ve liked to see vary the melodic content a bit more at the second refrain. That said, the post-chorus at 3:11 helped create some variety. Overall strong work here. Especially nice job with the atmosphere, melodies, and texture. Keep up the good work, Wind1823!

8.25/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Authorwind responds:

Woh! THANKS ;)☆
I should try to fix it;;

[Dirty Horse [Future bounce, Bigroom, Electro house, Trap, DnB]]

The experimental texture at the beginning was pretty cool. The vocals have an ominous aspect to them. Despite the changes in energy, the harmonic progression of the piece is pretty slow. I liked the first build-up and drop, but the minimalism largely characterizes the entire piece at this point, which I think is concerning. There isn’t much strong melodic content here at all, and aspects of the texture sound a bit generic (like that open hat, for example). You clearly have a good sense of rhythm and progression, but I just think you could’ve done so much more with the composition here. The outro at 2:58 felt pretty unnecessary, though, and I don’t think the pitch-bent vocals there added much to the piece. That said, the production quality was also strong, and I appreciated the variations on the drop the second time around. Keep at it, VecodeX!

7/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

[Burning Ice]

I like the heavy mid-range bass at the beginning and the crisp beats. Some of the instruments are a bit generic, especially the synth at :30 (it comes in earlier, but that’s where it’s most prominent in the texture). The build-up at :52 could’ve been fleshed out a little more, and the drop was catchy, albeit minimalistic. The production is strong here, though. The drums are loud and clear, and the frequencies are quite well-balanced overall. I thought the transition at 1:30 was a little sudden, but overall this is a very smooth-flowing piece. I appreciated the breakdown at 2:00, but I think you could’ve done more to offer some shape and phrasing within sections in this piece. The composition could use a stronger sense of direction at times, and the lack of harmonic depth doesn’t help. I liked the outro. Filtering out the snare roll at the end was a cool effect. Overall, strong work with the production, structuring, and atmosphere. I think the composition could use a little more fleshing out, and the arrangement is pretty generic, but those are my main complaints. Keep at it, TestUser472!

8/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[(REVISED) Tréstor - Swingin' Through Town]

I like the gritty bass at the beginning. The rhythmic content is fun, and the instrumentation helps sell the kind of nu-funk aspect of the piece. Aspects of the texture are a bit cliched, like the descending bass line at :34. I also think the drums (especially the kick) could’ve been a bit louder in the mix. More compression might help, and you may even want to add a limiter to the kick as a final step. There were times when the instrumentation sounded a tad harsh in the mix, too, like at 1:03 - just a lot of high-frequency tones that should be equalized a bit more carefully. The mix is pretty loud and well-balanced, though. I liked the structure of the piece too. Stripping away the drums at :49 was a good idea. After a time, the piece gets pretty repetitive, though. There also isn’t a lot of prominent melodic content in this piece. Fun riffs, sure. But none of these lines really stick out in the texture, and a lot of them have more of a rhythmic or harmonic appeal (as opposed to a melody that really shapes the harmonic progression by itself). That said, one of my favorite aspects of the piece was the sound design and mood. You’ve really sold the blissful retro vibe of the track, albeit with an electronic twist. Overall solid work, Syzion!

8/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Lunatic]

I like the drama at the beginning. That bass bomb contrasts well with the atmosphere. The strings sound lovely, and then I like how the more hard-hitting and melodic elements of the piece get integrated into the section at :38. The vocals at 1:15 are really nice, too. The mix is loud and clear, although the panning seemed a tad heavy at times. The composition doesn’t sound too dynamic during the last minute or so of the piece. I think it may have needed another climactic section to tie it together. Otherwise, you really sold the emotion with this track. All of my complaints are minor. Keep up the good work, Subotonix!

9.25/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

[Slime Rancher - Ancient Ruins (SP Cover/Mashup)]

I like the cute piano riff at the beginning, and the section at :11 has a distinct emotional appeal. The melodic content starting at around :40 is beautiful, and the mastering quality is quite good. Everything sounds loud, clear, and well-balanced in the mix. It’s also really satisfying when that piano riff comes back at a higher register at 1:14. I liked the airy, atmospheric part at 1:36 too. Up to that point, the energetic progression of the piece hadn’t sounded very dynamic. Once again, that section at 1:36 doesn’t have a lot of shape once the section starts. The harmonies especially don’t develop very quickly at all, and instead you simply transition into another section entirely at around 3:35. You’ve integrated what I assume are the 3 pieces of the soundtrack you’re covering quite well, although this piece doesn’t feel like a very coherent whole right now. After 1:35 or so, there’s not much energy in the track, and while there is a lot of emotional content, I can’t help but feel like you haven’t really maximized the dynamic range of the piece. The structure also feels a bit disjointed, as I alluded to earlier. That said, those compositional details are probably my main concerns with the piece. The atmosphere is beautiful, the melodic content is pleasant, and the production here is quite admirable. Keep at it, SplatterDash!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.25/10